Erasing Cable history keeps footy in the dark

Subiaco Oval censorship misguided

The only player who comes close to Kyal Horsley’s record as a triple Sandover Medal runner-up is three-time winner Barry Cable who missed out on three other medals by the slimmest margin.

Cable won in 1964, came second to Billy Walker by a vote in each of the next two seasons and then finished the same margin behind Walker and John Parkinson who tied in 1967.

Cable won again in 1968 and 1973 during a period when he was close to if not the best footballer in the country.

That Cable history has been erased from the official Sandover Medal walk at Subiaco Oval because of the recent civil finding against him that he molested his family’s teenaged babysitter.

His name has also been struck from the plaque recognising WAFL grand final history at the ground with blank spaces appearing for his Simpson Medal hat-trick in Perth’s three premierships in the mid- 1960s and his role as captain-coach of East Perth’s 1978 triumph.

Cable’s once-illustrious reputation has been shattered by the revelations of his noxious behaviour but I suspect I am not the only football follower deeply uncomfortable that his objective and undeniable football history also has been scrubbed.

The only reference to Cable at the open-air museum launched on Sunday is the indirect mention that Stephen Michael was the “third player of Noongar heritage” to become a WA football legend.

Graham Farmer and Cable were the first two.

Cable’s removal from various halls of fame is understandable.

Those bodies have character clauses which means that induction and retention are always subject to good behaviour.

But not history itself.

Cable was recognised as the best player in Perth’s three flags; he was the captain-coach when East Perth won a decade later.

You might think that, as a human, Cable is little short of the devil but his diminished reputation can’t change those historic facts.

If sunlight is the best disinfectant when it comes to transparency, the lessons of the past are surely learned better without shadows obscuring the worst of them.

The WA Football Commission says Cable’s name was removed to prevent protests at his recognition but what of the history buffs who might protest at his omission? Maybe with a black texta ...